


Precious and Fragile Things

by CrippledMuse



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: Comfort, Death, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-18
Updated: 2014-04-18
Packaged: 2018-01-19 20:30:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1482886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrippledMuse/pseuds/CrippledMuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clear sometimes forgets his own strength, and causes the death of an innocent creature. And Mink, being no stranger to death is there to help him cope with the loss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Precious and Fragile Things

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a friend's head canon. This is a gift for her. Quick and unbeta'd. Gomen.

The bird had actually come to him. Its brilliant plumage stood out so vividly against Clear’s pale skin. It reflected every subtle hue of each blue, red, and brown of the feathers as the sun caught them in its rays. It had taken hours of careful coaxing with bits of seed and bread, however the android was so determined to make the small creature his friend. And his efforts had been rewarded.

But now, it lay limp and broken in his trembling hands.

His touch had been gentle, he swore! He had stroked the bird so tenderly, in awe of how soft and delicate it was. Though it spread its wings to flutter off, and in his desperation, he caught the poor thing before it could properly take wing. The fragile neck snapped like a dry twig in the grip of his despairing fingers, snuffing out the life that beat within that avian breast.

Clear had been paralyzed the moment the realization had struck him. He had gained the bird’s trust only to betray it in the worst way imaginable. And it was the last thing he had ever wanted to do. The shaking overcame him before the wave of sobs, and when they came they were powerful.

“Mink-san!” Clear’s choked voice reverberated through the hall.

Mink had braced himself the moment the sound reached his ears. The robot was prone to extreme emotions, and what triggered them would vary between two points of equal extreme; eye-rollingly simple, or something that would make even a grown man’s heart break. There was no in between. At least, in Mink’s perception. But he had developed a sort of patience with the mechanical man in their time together, and he stood to see what trouble awaited him this time.

One look at the offering in Clear’s soiled gloves, with its twisted neck and crumpled wings made Mink’s usually stern face fall into an expression of utter sadness.

“I d-didn’t mean to…” the android croaked as he gazed up at the great man, tears cascading from his rose colored eyes. “I didn’t…”

The sight brought a sharp pang to Mink’s chest, and the sigh that escaped him did nothing to alleviate it. Life and death had such different meanings to him and Clear. Life was so precious to the pale little android; so precious the very thought of death distressed him to the point of breaking his back to save those most, including themselves, would have deemed unsalvageable. …like Mink himself. But here Clear, his gentle and naive Clear had just taken a life with his own bare hands. Something he had never, ever done before, and would never ever do. It had all been an accident, because he had forgotten his own, inhuman strength. And the life had been extinguished by the cold hand of a machine who just wanted to caress it, and enjoy its presence, because it valued life so much.

Another sigh, and Mink extended his large hands toward the android’s quaking pair. He cupped them gently with one, while the other gathered the bird’s corpse. “I know…” He said simply. He kept his voice soft, as if speaking to a hysteric child.

“I k-killed it, Mink-s-san…” the admission was stammered between heaved sobs. “I… I d-di-…”

“Shh...” Mink cooed. His hand moved to stroke away that river of tears from one of Clear’s pallid cheeks. “I know.” His fingers curled around the dead bird, hiding it from view. “It’s alright. Listen.” He tilted Clear’s chin upward, drawing those pink eyes to lock with his gold. “He’s to be with the gods now…”

Clear’s gaze turned questioning. The sound that left his throat only served to voice the expression.

“We should send him there, together.”

The statement furthered the robot’s confusion, and his snowy brows knit together.

“Bury him…” Mink clarified, and forced a small smile to curl a corner of his tanned mouth.

Clear swallowed deeply. He gave a slow, exaggerated nod of understanding. His hand slipped inside Mink’s, and together they walked. Along the way, his wails had slowed to mere shivering breaths, and deep inhales. The salt of the dried tear solution make his sensory preceptors sting lightly.

There were not many places left in Midori Jima for things to grow. There were small patches of land here and there, and the occasional tree that was planted along the sidewalks. Considerably more had sprung up in the time that had passed since the fall of Oval Tower, in the citizens’ desperate attempts to clean up the streets.

It was at the base of one of these trees that Mink stooped, and released his hold on Clear. The android watched carefully as those worn hands pried away the mulch and sank into the soft earth below. He peered over those broad shoulders as Mink worked diligently, and quickly to create a sizable hole, a fair grave for a bird of such splendor.

“Here…” that deep voice beckoned, and Clear obeyed. He knelt beside Mink, and hesitantly reached toward the body the man cradled. Together, they laid the bird to rest inside the shallow tomb. 

“Life is a journey,” Mink said softly as he began to rake the dirt back into the hole in a way that was almost ritualistic, “A journey to death. In death, our souls rise to be with the gods, and our bodies return to the earth. Death isn’t the end, only a new beginning. And from it, new life grows.” He pressed one of Clear’s hands to the fresh mound of disturbed soil. A chant began to flow from his lips. The language was foreign to Clear’s ears, and it was so enchanting and beautiful. The robot listened to everything with earnest, and his hand shook beneath the gentle pressure of Mink’s own pair.

A sort of understanding washed over the android as he pieced together Mink’s words. It was such a profound thing to say. It may not have been the right answer to the questions the robot posed about life and death, but it was an answer all the same. It still bothered him that it was he who cut that journey short, and without reason. But if what Mink said were true, then he supposed it was in a better, and more wondrous place.

Clear sniffled, and he rolled his hand over to lace his slender fingers with Mink’s larger digits. “I’m sorry…” he whispered. He felt Mink squeeze his hand. And Clear bit his lip. A sad smile crept its way across his features as he imagined the bird gracing the sky, flitting about the incarnations of Mink’s gods. A better, and more wondrous place than this tired old island it left behind.


End file.
